81 



who have done me the honour to consult me. My advice has beeu 

 this : If your passengers are in good health, they will not suffer from 

 the climate of 51° south ; but if reaction from fever exists to any 

 considerable extent, I recommend the latitude of 40°. I now, 

 however, doubt the con'ectness of my advice. I do nut think the 

 " Persian " had milder weather off Crozet Island than other vessels had 

 off Kerguelen Island. With the meager data of tlie few records of the 

 temperature kept on board Australian ships, I should come to the 

 conclusion, that along the belt of the westerly trades there is no decided 

 difference in the temperature of the air from 40" to 50° south. I 

 acknowledge that I have means far too slender to consider such a fact 

 as established ; still it proves how important it is that the proposal of 

 Lieutenant Maury should be carried out, that we should embrace 

 every opportunity to collect data respecting the temperature of the 

 air ii: these regions, otherwise the humane motives of Captain Peat and 

 others, who sacrificed time for the benetit of their passengers, so far 

 from accomplishing the object they have in view, may ^Jroduce the 

 couti'ary result, by exposing them to a longer passage. 



The "composite" route home is not so fuUy established in its details as 

 that by which the voyage out has been conducted Till of late, all our 

 sailing directions advised the mariner to return by the Cape, the voyage 

 home as far as the Cape being over the same track as the voyage out. 

 We have shown that the great advantage of ships sailing by the com- 

 posite route to Australia arises from favourable winds. About a 

 thousand miles, or seven per cent, of tlie distance, is saved ; but 2U 

 per cent, of the time of the voyage is saved ; consequently 13 per cent, 

 is saved by favourable winds. In fact, so constant are the winds over 

 this route, that a steamer has only occasion to use that auxiliary power 

 during one-fifth of the passage. How then could it be expected that 

 vessels could make a good passage by returning by such a route ? The 

 first passage made by the " composite " route, by the Horn, which has 

 come to my knowledge, was made by Captain Boyce, in the " Pakenham," 

 in which case he left Australia, striking into the parallel of the Horn, 

 weathering the Horn by tliis parallel. You are all acquainted with 

 his subseijuent return voyages by the '"Eagle:" also, the two voj'ages by 

 Captain Forbes, in the "Marco Polo." I had not the jileasure of (Japtain 

 Boyce's acquaintance previously to the conclusion of my last paper, a 

 fortnight since, when I had the pleasure of being introduced to him, I 

 have not, therefore, the means of illustrating the present subject by 

 reference to tlie details of his voyage, and so am obliged to confine 

 myself to prove the fact of tlic extent of ability that may be displayed 



